Redwall Poems
by Sounasha
Summary: All/most of my better Redwall poems, divided into hopefully logical categories/chapters.
1. Effects of War

"Wandering Warrior"  
  
I am a warrior  
  
Though I might wish it were different  
  
I lead a life of woe  
  
Seeing comrades fall in battle; who can describe  
  
The anguish I felt when those brave close friends died!  
  
I am a wanderer  
  
Though I would like to stay  
  
I must travel onward  
  
After my enemy night and day.  
  
A wandering warrior, that is the life I lead  
  
Perhaps one of adventure, maybe one of good deeds  
  
Also one of sadness and woe  
  
But the life of a wandering warrior is my fate, I know.  
  
"Fallen Comrades"  
  
Long-time friends  
  
Life snatched from in battle  
  
A comrade falls  
  
Killed by the blow  
  
Of the despicable foe.  
  
Comrades dead in battles long fought  
  
Friends who death upon foebeasts brought  
  
Some saved our lives, mine or yours, ten times again  
  
Some encouraged others and insisted "You can!"  
  
Now dead on the battlefield, killed by the foe  
  
My friends, you don't deserve this woe!  
  
Friend, how I long to see you once again  
  
You who never retreated and never ran  
  
But now all I can do is keep you in my memory  
  
And be sure that the one who killed you is dead.  
  
"Death"  
  
Impossible to believe  
  
Impossible to accept  
  
The fact that one, once so  
  
Full of life, full of energy  
  
Now lies, unmoving, unseeing  
  
Not breathing  
  
Not speaking  
  
Dead.  
  
"First Battle"  
  
Young, untried, uncertain  
  
Not a warrior yet  
  
Ability with a weapon  
  
But future isn't set.  
  
Into battle the young one goes  
  
Paws shaking with nervous fear  
  
Arrows whizzing overhead  
  
Blades slicing through the air.  
  
Gathering courage, the young one  
  
Takes aim with an arrow, lets fly  
  
A foebeast dies with a scream  
  
Goes down with a gurgling cry.  
  
The young one's paws go numb  
  
Face shocked and not believing.  
  
Can't believe he killed another  
  
Stunned by what he's seeing.  
  
The sight of death is horrible  
  
In the eyes of one so young  
  
The taking of another's life  
  
Is terrifying, not fun.  
  
But then beside the young one  
  
A goodbeast, a comrade falls  
  
Slain by the paw of vermin  
  
To Dark Forest the comrade is called.  
  
Anger overcomes fear and shock  
  
The young one charges into the fray  
  
The young one becomes a warrior  
  
The young one ages seasons that day.  
  
"When a Youth Becomes a Warrior"  
  
When a youth becomes a warrior  
  
It is not a time for joy  
  
For a warrior's life causes one to age quickly  
  
To be no longer an innocent girl or boy.  
  
When a young one becomes a warrior  
  
Youth is taken from him  
  
The sight of death, the taste of blood,  
  
Killing others to win…  
  
When a child becomes a warrior  
  
The innocence of youth is stolen  
  
Muffled is the laughter and joy  
  
Of one who once played in a forest glen.  
  
That the young would not become warriors  
  
Would instead cling to childhood  
  
Instead of aging far too soon  
  
And having to cause death and draw blood.  
  
"The Warrior is Afraid"  
  
(NOTE: I wrote this after reading "The Warrior is a Child".)  
  
I'm the last one you'd call weak  
  
I'm the type you seek  
  
In times of trouble and warfare  
  
To go into the enemy's lair.  
  
I'm rough, I'm tough, as hard as nails  
  
I'm an impenetrable fort  
  
Never venerable, never afraid  
  
Of anything- killing, death, or the enemy sort…  
  
That's what everybeast says.  
  
You'd never believe that I'm weak  
  
You'd never think I could be scared  
  
Nobeast would ever venture to think  
  
That behind my blade  
  
This warrior is afraid.  
  
Sometimes I shiver behind my helmet  
  
At the sight of the enemy ranks  
  
Sometimes I'm scared that I won't make it  
  
Across war's treacherous banks.  
  
I'm scared, I'm sad,  
  
I go home and sob  
  
A warrior's life isn't simple  
  
But it's true that behind this blade  
  
The warrior is afraid.  
  
I'm not that old  
  
I'm rather young  
  
I was forced to age too fast  
  
The weight of friends who now lie dead  
  
Is etched into my past.  
  
Yes, behind this blade,  
  
The warrior is afraid.  
  
Killing is not glamorous  
  
Not beautiful or good  
  
Life of any species is precious  
  
Be it goodbeast kind or vermin rude…  
  
My blade is stained by vermin blood.  
  
Still, behind this blood- red blade,  
  
The warrior is afraid.  
  
We're not a breed apart  
  
From the peaceful ones  
  
We need a shoulder to cry on  
  
Often, down my cheek, a salty tear runs  
  
For you see, behind this blade,  
  
The warrior is afraid.  
  
  
  
"I Am No Warrior"  
  
I am no warrior-  
  
I am a fighter.  
  
Warriors abide by a code of honor-  
  
Do right  
  
Be merciful  
  
Protect the weak  
  
Have a conscience  
  
Let your foe have an equal chance.  
  
I am not merciful.  
  
I have no conscience.  
  
I do whatever is needed to defeat my enemy.  
  
A warrior disarms the opponent-  
  
And lets them retrieve their weapon.  
  
I disarm my opponent-  
  
And then I run them through.  
  
I admire warriors.  
  
I envy them their honor  
  
Their compassion  
  
Their weaknesses that are truly strengths.  
  
But I am not a warrior.  
  
I am cold of heart and hard of soul  
  
And I do unto vermin  
  
As they do unto me.  
  
"Warrior's Heart"  
  
Face of stone  
  
Standing apart  
  
Does the warrior have a heart?  
  
Shadowed soul  
  
Blood-soaked blade  
  
Is the warrior e'er afraid?  
  
Red-veiled eyes  
  
Storm above  
  
Can the warrior someday know love?  
  
Hardened heart  
  
Battle mind  
  
Does the warrior know how to be kind?  
  
Chains of hate  
  
Eyes wintry  
  
Will the warrior e'er be free? 


	2. Prejudice

"The Wolf"  
  
The howl of the wolf  
  
Chilling, yet thrilling  
  
Resounds through the starlit night.  
  
Another howl answers  
  
Then another  
  
Floating up to the moon so bright.  
  
Good or bad?  
  
Nobeast knows.  
  
Majestic, solitary creatures  
  
They oft stay alone  
  
With their own kind  
  
Away from both goodbeast and vermin homes.  
  
Piercing golden eyes  
  
Short, list'ning ears  
  
A noble head, rough thick fur  
  
Long, ne'er tiring legs  
  
Lope through Mossflower, close to the forest floor.  
  
Good or bad?  
  
Still nobeast knows  
  
So solitary is the wolf,  
  
That good or evil is not known.  
  
  
  
"Dare to See"  
  
Steel flashes, biting into bone  
  
All around are vermin dead  
  
And on your blade the color red  
  
Dripping down to soak dark loam.  
  
Dare you think of vermin lives?  
  
Do they have children? Mothers? Wives?  
  
Dare you wonder who now cries  
  
For vermin dead and vermin lives?  
  
Fury twists the warrior's face  
  
Thinking of naught but vermin lies  
  
Not caring as the foebeast dies  
  
Only hating the vermin race.  
  
Dare you care for vermin souls?  
  
Do they dream of lifelong goals?  
  
Dare you wonder of the roles  
  
Played by hated vermin souls?  
  
Pleas for mercy split the air  
  
The foebeast thinks of mate and child  
  
But your blade is quick and temper riled.  
  
The pleading gaze becomes death's blank stare.  
  
Dare you meet the vermin's gaze?  
  
Will caring slow your deadly blades?  
  
Dare you see through hatred's haze  
  
Yourself within the foebeast's gaze?  
  
"The Child Listens"  
  
"Listen, youngling, listen well:  
  
Of evil vermin I will tell.  
  
Foxes, weasels, stoats, and rats,  
  
Ferrets, martens, wildcats.  
  
Slavers, killers, liars all-  
  
Trust a vermin and you'll fall."  
  
The child listens.  
  
"I'm sorry, youngling, but it's time-  
  
Listen to the war bells chime.  
  
I must leave to destroy vermin.  
  
My blade hungers for revenge of my kin  
  
Wait for me; I shall return  
  
Unless my body on the pyre burns."  
  
The child waits.  
  
"Listen, youngling, to my tale:  
  
Your father did do battle well.  
  
He fought bravely and did not flee,  
  
But he met one more skilled than he.  
  
I'm sorry, young one, I really am,  
  
But your father will never return again."  
  
The child weeps.  
  
"Hello, youngling, and what do you want?  
  
Training in the warrior's art?  
  
You've learned to hate, now learn to kill  
  
With blade and bow, might and skill.  
  
Never trust a vermin's word  
  
No truth from them has ever been heard."  
  
The child learns.  
  
"Well now, youngling, you're in a fix.  
  
With my blade at your throat, don't try any tricks.  
  
You call me vermin, but see beyond the weasel face.  
  
Do not say I'm evil because of my race.  
  
Leave now, youngling, and remember this, my plea:  
  
If I were a vermin, would I set you free?"  
  
The child flees.  
  
The child listens to the words of what defines vermin.  
  
The child waits for a father to return from a battle where hatred always wins.  
  
The child weeps for a father's loss, and prejudice is fixed in stone.  
  
The child learns how to kill, and hatred is condoned.  
  
The child flees from the truth, unable to face that the teachings might be wrong-  
  
and the 'vermin' might be right.  
  
"Twilight"  
  
White  
  
Light  
  
Laughter of a child  
  
See the world through shining eyes  
  
Sunlit forests, bright spring fields  
  
All is right.  
  
All is light.  
  
All is white.  
  
Black  
  
Dark  
  
Screams of grief and loss  
  
See the world in black and white  
  
Vermin evil, goodbeasts good  
  
All is dead.  
  
All is dark.  
  
All is black.  
  
Gray  
  
Fade away  
  
Whispers of good and evil merged to neither  
  
See the world cloaked in twillight  
  
Ending day.  
  
All is gray.  
  
Fades away. 


	3. Riala Goldentail

*This section of Redwall poems are all based on or inspired by my main Redwall character, Riala Goldentail. Her full story (well, what's written of it, anyhow) is told in Vengeance Quest. The newer [and better] poems are at the top; the older and embarrassingly poorly written ones are further down.*  
  
  
  
Catharsis  
  
I hide it  
  
Well- the pain within.  
  
None know the squirrel beneath  
  
The shell of silence, coldness, standing  
  
Apart from all who might try to befriend this  
  
Squirrel. Even I cannot remember when last  
  
I allowed myself to feel grief or to feel pain  
  
Or shame. But sometimes the pressure  
  
From within becomes far too great  
  
To withstand and so  
  
I take to the trees  
  
Letting green leaves  
  
And strong boughs  
  
And the purely  
  
Physical trials of  
  
Staying aloft burn  
  
Away the shadows  
  
Within. I can forget my  
  
Past when racing the wind  
  
Through the trees, if only for a time.  
  
"Hatred"  
  
'There's no reason ye couldn't live the rest of yer life happy.'  
  
...You make it sound so easy...  
  
Have you ever felt grief so deep  
  
You can't think  
  
Can't act  
  
Can't move?  
  
Ever been touched by fury so intense  
  
It overrides all reason  
  
All emotion  
  
Leaving you dry of tears?  
  
And then the fury settles to cold hatred  
  
Smoldering hatred  
  
Hatred so deep  
  
Nothing in all the world can drive it out  
  
And the only thing you can do is obey it...  
  
Spend seasons of life trying to satisfy it  
  
As it consumes you  
  
Becomes your only purpose  
  
Nothing you can do to stop it....  
  
You want me to smile?  
  
You think it's so easy to stop hating?  
  
When all you've ever done is  
  
hate and kill  
  
kill and hate  
  
When all you've ever known is hatred...  
  
When it's all you are...  
  
Emotion's the first to die in a life like that.  
  
You forget how to laugh  
  
Forget how to cry  
  
Forget how to live  
  
Forget everything but anger  
  
Everything but hatred.  
  
'No reason ye couldn't live the rest of yer life happy.'  
  
So the mind says...  
  
The heart tells a different story.  
  
"I Am No Warrior"  
  
I am no warrior-  
  
I am a fighter.  
  
Warriors abide by a code of honor-  
  
Do right  
  
Be merciful  
  
Protect the weak  
  
Have a conscience  
  
Let your foe have an equal chance.  
  
I am not merciful.  
  
I have no conscience.  
  
I do whatever is needed to defeat my enemy.  
  
A warrior disarms the opponent-  
  
And lets them retrieve their weapon.  
  
I disarm my opponent-  
  
And then I run them through.  
  
I admire warriors.  
  
I envy them their honor  
  
Their compassion  
  
Their weaknesses that are truly strengths.  
  
But I am not a warrior.  
  
I am cold of heart and hard of soul  
  
And I do unto vermin  
  
As they do unto me.  
  
"Warrior's Heart"  
  
Face of stone  
  
Standing apart  
  
Does the warrior have a heart?  
  
Shadowed soul  
  
Blood-soaked blade  
  
Is the warrior e'er afraid?  
  
Red-veiled eyes  
  
Storm above  
  
Can the warrior someday know love?  
  
Hardened heart  
  
Battle mind  
  
Does the warrior know how to be kind?  
  
Chains of hate  
  
Eyes wintry  
  
Will the warrior e'er be free?  
  
  
  
"Father"  
  
Father, I have finished what you began-  
  
The legacy of hate passed on to me  
  
With your death.  
  
I tracked the wolverine as you must have done-  
  
From frigid North where hate was sparked  
  
To sun-scorched South.  
  
You said he killed one dear to you-  
  
Though you never told me that one's name  
  
Or relation.  
  
But he killed one so dear to me-  
  
With treachery he destroyed you  
  
And my life.  
  
My reason for life has been hate since then-  
  
And a desire to avenge your death  
  
On the wolverine.  
  
Now, Father, I have gained my revenge-  
  
Done that which you died attempting to do  
  
Leaving me alone.  
  
Tell me, Father, what to live for now-  
  
For my hatred was my life, and I've  
  
Nobeast left to hate.  
  
Vengeance seems a deadly cycle-  
  
One that I'm caught in and  
  
One I can't escape.  
  
Your grave is silent, Father-  
  
You can give me no answers  
  
For you are gone.  
  
I'm still a child, Father-  
  
Though my innocence is gone,  
  
I still need guidance.  
  
But there's no one left to guide me-  
  
I pushed them all away in my quest  
  
And I'm alone.  
  
Father, I have finished what you began-  
  
And now I begin my own search  
  
For a purpose.  
  
1 "Lost"  
  
In the maze of memory  
  
Fraught with traps and snares  
  
Hidden behind mystery  
  
In deepest netherwhere.  
  
Walls of thorn and pain and night  
  
Turning, twisting, shadowed prison  
  
Hide the sun from the world's harsh light  
  
Lock the child in oblivion.  
  
A child wanders through the dark  
  
Crying, searching, ever lost  
  
Lost within the dungeon stark  
  
This is kind protection's cost.  
  
Shields of hate and walls of rage  
  
Moat of grief, fort of mistrust  
  
What was haven is now a cage  
  
Blocking out love with grief's chill gusts.  
  
The walls are stone, void of spirit  
  
The maze is filled with soulless things  
  
Only the child within the deepest pit  
  
To a tenuous life still clings.  
  
But one stolen from light cannot live long  
  
Eyes shadowed and soulless show only death  
  
Soon toppled must be the fortress strong  
  
Else the child within will never again draw breath.  
  
  
  
"Riala Goldentail's War Song"  
  
I have a tail of golden  
  
A heart full of vengeance  
  
From when the Longclaws crossed my path  
  
My soul is filled with wrath.  
  
Longclaws, you will not live long  
  
Vile black wolverine  
  
My vengeful stick will wreak its song  
  
Of death upon your scum filled head.  
  
Nightdeath Longclaws, I am on your trail  
  
Your days are limited  
  
Soon I'll find you all alone  
  
And my father's death will be avenged.  
  
RIIILLLAAARRRRR!!!  
  
"Riala's Ballad"  
  
Born the daughter of a warrior  
  
On a cold winter's night  
  
The squirrel's mother died giving birth  
  
Died giving Goldentail life.  
  
Rilar Battlecry, a fearsome warrior squirrel  
  
He was the father and caretaker  
  
Of Riala Goldentail  
  
And he protected her well.  
  
But then one night, when Riala  
  
Was but three seasons old  
  
A great enemy of all squirrels  
  
Came to Goldentail's home.  
  
Rilar drew his mighty sword  
  
And charged the wolverine  
  
The Longclaws drew his scimitar  
  
And they battled, good vs. mean.  
  
As Riala watched, screened in the trees  
  
Nightdeath Longclaws growled  
  
Three times, loud and short, carried by the breeze  
  
For Battlecry was winning, the Longclaws had found.  
  
A weasel from the wolverine's band  
  
Strung an arrow to his bow  
  
And with careful and unfortunate aim  
  
The weasel let the arrow go.  
  
Riala's face showed horror  
  
Her soul filled with anguish and pain  
  
As the brave Rilar Battlecry died  
  
From the Longclaws deceptive game.  
  
Goldentail fled through the trees  
  
Blindly because of rage  
  
As she grabbed a satchel and a knife  
  
Her heart felt like it was in a cage.  
  
Riala raced away  
  
From that place of sorrow  
  
Her home, burned behind her  
  
She ran with a stick as a weapon, that she could swing or throw.  
  
On and on, evermore  
  
She stays to the Longclaws' trail  
  
Riala will follow the wolverine  
  
Because her father fell. 


	4. Miscellaneous

"Tsarmina"  
  
Water swirling- wet and swift  
  
Paws a-stirring- damp, adrift  
  
Ears scarred and still- no longer alert  
  
Fur scarred and mangled- in the water stirred  
  
Eyes amber-gold- now dulled in death  
  
Chest still and stiff- not to draw another breath  
  
Claws broken and blooded- a battle lost  
  
Fine clothes now scraps- from wind and frost  
  
Wildcat rests in death- on the quiet beach  
  
Tsarmina, killed by a mouse- and her worst fear, each.  
  
  
  
"Battle of Fort Ruddler"  
  
T'was winter and the dawn-touched sky  
  
Showed no sign of storm.  
  
Yet no owl through the trees would fly  
  
On that still and silent morn.  
  
Snow had fallen just that night  
  
And blanketed the ground.  
  
The wind shaped drifts 'neath morning's light  
  
Into forts for the battleground.  
  
The silence was shattered by a yell  
  
As somebeast was hit.  
  
Wavebeasts and Infantry each soon fell  
  
Into shelt'ring snowy pits.  
  
One army was the Fleet  
  
Led by Ariel Oceantear.  
  
They swore that they would not retreat  
  
Though the battle be severe.  
  
The opposition was the Infantry  
  
And their leader was Sandfur.  
  
They agreed that no enemy plea  
  
Would cause their wrath to be deterred.  
  
Bailey, Pearl, and more Fleet otters  
  
Battled out of half-froze streams.  
  
Iceballs struck landbeast fur  
  
Surprising startled screams.  
  
From the cover of the trees  
  
Fought squirrels- Riala, Vodin, Crimson  
  
Throwing snow for the Infantry  
  
Sneak attack, hit-and-run.  
  
For hours was the battle fought  
  
Snowballs marking those unwary.  
  
And though the winning side was sought  
  
Upon the winner none could agree.  
  
1  
  
2 "Silver"  
  
Silver flashes, moontime gleams  
  
Treetops rustle in the unseen breeze.  
  
Warriors wait in hidden boughs  
  
With silver flashes and moontime gleams.  
  
Silver  
  
Flashes red  
  
Flashes wet  
  
Flashes clean  
  
Unseen.  
  
Silver  
  
Flashes fright  
  
Flashes death  
  
Flashes light  
  
Silent.  
  
Silver flashes, moontime gleams  
  
Treetops rustle in the unseen breeze  
  
Warriors leave through hidden ways  
  
With silver flashes and moontime gleams.  
  
  
  
"Journey by Starlight"  
  
Far away a road begins  
  
Under moonless night,  
  
Over hills swept by dark winds  
  
And lit by a star's light.  
  
Walk with me along the road  
  
O'er valley and mountain height,  
  
And still the night is dark  
  
With only a star's light.  
  
Dangers come and pass  
  
Shadows lie to left and right,  
  
Dark is the journey  
  
And we see with the star's light.  
  
Yet the road ends in reward  
  
With peace and sunlight bright,  
  
At the end of our journey  
  
This journey by starlight.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Northlands"  
  
Land of ice, land of snow,  
  
Unchanged now from long ago.  
  
Longest day, longest night,  
  
Endless darkness, endless light.  
  
The wild North grants life to few  
  
And forges survivors all anew.  
  
Those who can live in the fickle Northland  
  
Are forcefully shaped by her pitiless hand.  
  
She freezes blood and hearts and tears,  
  
And any who are able to persevere  
  
Become as cold as this harsh frontier.  
  
For this wild country knows no law  
  
Save that of death and that of claw.  
  
Frozen beauty, deadly light  
  
All is cold, all is white.  
  
  
  
"A Plague Of Hares"  
  
Longears waggle laughingly  
  
Duck and run, bob and weave  
  
All these beasts, I do believe,  
  
Exist for one reason- to plague me!  
  
Go into the cellar- see a hare  
  
Then into the barracks- and they're there.  
  
If I were able to fly through the air,  
  
I believe even there would be a hare!  
  
Plagued by long ears at every turn  
  
Fur of gray, of dust, of brown,  
  
In highest tower, and remote downs.  
  
When home I go, the hares also return!  
  
Go into the forest- see a hare  
  
Then into the Northlands- and they're there.  
  
My nicest dreams all turn into nightmare  
  
For even in my dreams are longeared hares! 


	5. Horrors of the Past

*This section is called "horrors of the past" because they're all terrible poems. I wrote these three or four years ago, perhaps even before that. I don't know why I'm putting these embarrassments online, but here they are. Enjoy laughing at the forced rhymes and badly written stanzas. *  
  
"Riala Goldentail's War Song"  
  
I have a tail of golden  
  
A heart full of vengeance  
  
From when the Longclaws crossed my path  
  
My soul is filled with wrath.  
  
Longclaws, you will not live long  
  
Vile black wolverine  
  
My vengeful stick will wreak its song  
  
Of death upon your scum filled head.  
  
Nightdeath Longclaws, I am on your trail  
  
Your days are limited  
  
Soon I'll find you all alone  
  
And my father's death will be avenged.  
  
RIIILLLAAARRRRR!!!  
  
**"wreak its song of death upon your scum-filled head"? What was I thinking when I wrote this??**  
  
  
  
"Redwall"  
  
Redwall, Redwall,  
  
I left my heart in Redwall  
  
In that abbey of red sandstone grand  
  
With the creatures of Mossflower's lands  
  
Redwall, Redwall,  
  
My heart is still in Redwall!  
  
At that table in Great Hall  
  
In the walls that will never fall!  
  
Redwall, Redwall!  
  
I must return to Redwall!  
  
To see the Abbot or Abbess  
  
To greet the hares, hedgehogs, rabbits  
  
To play with the Dibbuns, small and full of mischief  
  
To defend from the walltop, well used and victorious  
  
To go on quests full of adventure  
  
With bravebeasts that have hearts of gold  
  
And courage of iron.  
  
Redwall, Redwall!  
  
Oh, for that abbey, Redwall!  
  
All peaceful beasts are welcome  
  
To enter through the massive gates  
  
Just friends, not foe  
  
Bring happiness, not woe  
  
And ev'ryone will gather to sow  
  
Trees for the orchard, and we will go  
  
To Cavern Hole to eat and talk  
  
So come one, come all, to Redwall  
  
The abbey where peace reigns over all!  
  
**Well, it's good for the me of four years ago… but it's still bad. This is corny and sappy and waaaay too happy. (Wow, I rhymed without forcing it… maybe I'm improving! *gasp*) Urgh.**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Legacy of Warriors"  
  
Through my dreams  
  
Float warriors, long dead  
  
All were brave  
  
All were mourned.  
  
Some battled with swords  
  
Others with pikes  
  
But weapons do not make the warrior.  
  
A warrior well known is in the front  
  
A mouse with valor bold  
  
Armed with a sword made from a star  
  
Martin the Warrior, his eyes now warm, now cold.  
  
Boar the Fighter, a warrior who's fate  
  
Is sad- he died in battle with his enemy  
  
Waving Martin and Salamandastron hares away  
  
His sword slashing and killing, his spirit soared free.  
  
Sunflash the Mace, of whom I've been told  
  
A golden stripe upon the badger's head  
  
His great mace he carries on his shoulder with ease  
  
Above him his loyal kestrel flies, one who before Sunflash was dead.  
  
Next I spy Mariel  
  
A mousemaid warrioress  
  
Her Gullwhacker rope by her side  
  
A warrior and a friend, neither one she is less.  
  
Beside Mariel is Dandin  
  
Her friend and fellow warrior  
  
His short sword hangs by his side  
  
The pair's story is often told.  
  
Nearby the two is Joseph  
  
Mariel's father, a bellmaker  
  
Peaceful but when need be  
  
A strong and dangerous warrior.  
  
Father back is Auma  
  
Badger mother of Redwall  
  
Along with Samkin and Arula  
  
And her friend Pickle, a hare I can recall.  
  
Next I do see Urthstripe  
  
With his brother Urthwyte  
  
The two Badger Lords follow  
  
The long column of warriors.  
  
Matthias the Warrior is next  
  
With his sword at paw  
  
Am that is, he defended against Cluny  
  
And laughed in the enemy's face, "haha!"  
  
The son of Matthias follows his dad  
  
Mattimeo is the young one's name  
  
Captured by Slagar the Cruel  
  
Against enemy he was game.  
  
Orlando the Axe  
  
Barkstripe, Constance  
  
A host of badger warriors follow  
  
Too many to name, though all took up the fighter's stance.  
  
Now I see many many Log-a-Logs  
  
From different times and different battles  
  
But all took the chieftain's name  
  
Skipper, Skipper, another Skipper  
  
Otter Chieftains all  
  
Separate time and place  
  
But warrior leaders every one.  
  
So many more warriors  
  
Arven, Hon Rosie, Swifteye, Reguba  
  
I couldn't name all if I tried  
  
And dawn is coming quickly  
  
So remember the warriors, small and large  
  
Each soldier, leader, and solitary beast  
  
They are all great warriors  
  
And their name should be toasted at every feast.  
  
**Ack! Terrible! "Am that is, he defended against Cluny/And laughed in his face, 'haha!'" I can't believe I wrote that! "Against enemy he was game"? So not only do I force rhymes, but I also have poor grammar… yagh… A warning to the wise: Never, ever read stuff you've written a long time ago. You'll just be beating yourself over the head with it and wondering how you could have written such trash.**  
  
  
  
"Warcries"  
  
REDWAAAALLLL!  
  
Abbey warcry  
  
The last thing heard by many vermin  
  
Fighting Redwall's creatures.  
  
EULALIAAAAA!  
  
Warcry of badgers and hares  
  
From Salamandastron or elsewhere  
  
The sound of death to foebeasts.  
  
LOGALOGALOGALOG!  
  
Guosim shout in war  
  
Known to many evil ones  
  
Intruding on Mossflower land.  
  
MOSSFLOWERRR!  
  
A warcry gone from warrior lips  
  
Used before Redwall was built  
  
But t'was the sound of death to Kotir  
  
At the time of Tsarmina's rule.  
  
HOLT LUTRAAAA!  
  
Not as well known as the others  
  
Used by an otter called Grath  
  
Vermin heard it just before  
  
They felt the green-fletched arrows' wrath.  
  
Warcries vary, but be wary  
  
When you hear the ones above  
  
Careful, careful, vermin horde  
  
These cries mean death to foebeasts- be warned!  
  
**…I'm not going to even comment on this. You should know at a glance how bad it is. Not as bad as the poem before it, but…**  
  
  
  
"Riala's Ballad"  
  
Born the daughter of a warrior  
  
On a cold winter's night  
  
The squirrel's mother died giving birth  
  
Died giving Goldentail life.  
  
Rilar Battlecry, a fearsome warrior squirrel  
  
He was the father and caretaker  
  
Of Riala Goldentail  
  
And he protected her well.  
  
But then one night, when Riala  
  
Was but three seasons old  
  
A great enemy of all squirrels  
  
Came to Goldentail's home.  
  
Rilar drew his mighty sword  
  
And charged the wolverine  
  
The Longclaws drew his scimitar  
  
And they battled, good vs. mean.  
  
As Riala watched, screened in the trees  
  
Nightdeath Longclaws growled  
  
Three times, loud and short, carried by the breeze  
  
For Battlecry was winning, the Longclaws had found.  
  
A weasel from the wolverine's band  
  
Strung an arrow to his bow  
  
And with careful and unfortunate aim  
  
The weasel let the arrow go.  
  
Riala's face showed horror  
  
Her soul filled with anguish and pain  
  
As the brave Rilar Battlecry died  
  
From the Longclaws deceptive game.  
  
Goldentail fled through the trees  
  
Blindly because of rage  
  
As she grabbed a satchel and a knife  
  
Her heart felt like it was in a cage.  
  
Riala raced away  
  
From that place of sorrow  
  
Her home, burned behind her  
  
She ran with a stick as a weapon, that she could swing or throw.  
  
On and on, evermore  
  
She stays to the Longclaws' trail  
  
Riala will follow the wolverine  
  
Because her father fell.  
  
**Forced rhymes, forced rhymes, lots and lots of forced rhymes… "She ran with a stick as a weapon, that she could swing or throw." How corny is that? How pathetic is that?? Okay, I'll stop now. You can stop covering your eyes in aversion. The terrible horrors of the past are over now!** 


End file.
